Compact



May 16, E A EMlRE ET AL COMPACT Filed July 9, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l BY y ATTO RN EY 'May 16, 1939 E. A. L EMIRE ET Al. 2,158,548

COMPACT Filed July 9, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Z'dwa A. Lepzlfe Patented May 16, 1939 UNITED STATES TENT FFi'CE COMPACT Application July 9, 1937, Serial No. 152,682l

4 Claims.

The present invention-relates to a compact construction and it particularly relates to a womans compact construction designed to carry powder, an applicator and a mirror.

It is among the particular objects ofthe present invention to construct such a compact of wood with assurance that the compact may be used over long periods of' time without breakageA or cracking due to weather conditions or handling; whichwill'be of'small volume and relatively light Weight; which may be inexpensively manufactured and yet of most attractive appearance; and which may be locked in closed position with assurance that the powder supply therein will not tend' to seep or filter out in the space between the sections thereof.

Other objects will be obvious or will be apparent during the course of the following specifica.- tion.

In accomplishing the preferred objects of the present invention, it has been found most satisfactory to provide two relatively thin square, rectangular, round or polygonal blocks of wood tapered. round their periphery and reaching a maximum depth adjacent totheir middle portions.

One of. theseblocks is Wood, preferably recessed to receive a mirror, the top face of which is desirably positioned, below the outer edge of the recess and the other block is recessed to receive a. powder reservoir, covered b-y a sifter which in turn may be covered by a removable applicator or cloth pad for use by the owner of the compact.

The edge of the pad is preferably embossed or of greater thickness than the remainder of the pad and it is designed to cooperate with the wall ofthe powder reservoir and with the face of the mirror so as to form a seepage tight seal, preventingY removal or loss of powder.

In constructing the compact it has been found most suitable to make a hinge at one side thereof, which will provide flexibility and also to provide a clip or lock or latch at the other side which will similarly provide for iiexibility and resiliency in closure of the compact.

This will relieve and avoid undue strain in case of swelling or change in the wood with varying humidity and handling and also will take up 50 any variations in the dimensions of the compact, preventing undue stress upon the compact or its hinge structure upon usage.

In the preferred construction resilient means is desirably employed both as a hinge means for the twoelements of the compact andas a. latch or lock means to hold the other sides of the compact together.

Preferably in constructing the compact extra sections of wood are added to the adjacent ends of said blocks, one block being provided with two elongated side sections and the other block being provided with an intervening section.

One or more coil springs extend through these sections in the preferred construction. If desired, oneside of the coil may have extended coils and the other side preferably having closed coils.

In forming the latch, a recess is preferably formed in the one end of the blocks on the opposite side from the hinge construction, said recess carrying a stud with a head. The other block is also recessed and carries a U-shaped coil spring, the ends of which fit in bores in the bottom of the recess and are held in place by glue. The U-shaped coil spring is designed to snap over the head of the stud.

By these hinge and latch constructions, iiexibilty is provided at both sides of' the compact construction.

In the accompanying drawings, as shown, several features of the present inventionl embodied in oneform of the invention the drawings merely being by Way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawings:

Fig. I is-a top perspective view of the compact on its side in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the compact when opened' in partial section to show the latch.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view upon the line 3-3 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view upon the line 4-4 of Fig. l upon a slightly smaller scale.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view upon an enlarged scale of an alternative powder container and sifter construction.

Fig. 6 is a top perspective view of the sifter construction of Fig. 5 removed from the compact.

Figs. '7 and 8 illustrate still another embodiment of powder container and sifter construction, l

Fig. '7 beingy a fragmentary transverse sectional view and Fig. 8 being a top view upon the line 8 8 of Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of still another alternative powder container and sifter construction.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary transverse sectional View illustrating an alternative mirror retainer construction.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary showing of the hinge end portion of the compact shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 12 is a top perspective view illustrating an alternative compact construction of similar construction to that shown in Figs. 1 and 4, but having side edges of a contrasting material.

Referring to the construction, as shown, the compact is provided with two block elements I0 and II, which are tapered, as indicated at I2, I3 and I4 respectively, toward the sides and each of the ends of the blocks, the maximum thickness of the block being at I5.

One end of the compact is provided with a hinge structure A, while the other side of the compact is provided with a latch structure Bi.

To form the hinge structure the blocks IE! and II are preferably beveled as indicated at the faces I6 and Ii respectively. On the beveled faces I6 are glued two pieces of wood I8 and a single piece of wood I9 is glued on the cover element I0.

These pieces of wood are of approximately rectangular cross section, as shown best in Fig. 3, and their exterior surfaces are curved, as shown at A in Fig. l, to conform to the tapered conformation of the blocks I and II toward the hinge.

In the adjacent faces 20 of the elements I8 and I9 are provided the bores 2I and 22 and which receive the hinge springs 23, and said springs having a closed end 24 and a relatively open end 25.

The adjacent faces of the blocks I0 and II which close toward each other are preferably smooth and at at their peripheries and they are centrally recessed, as indicated at 23 and 29.

The recess at 28 is provided with an outer circular shoulder or step 3G, an intermediate shoulder or step 3I and a central depressed well 32, the bottom of the well being curved to conform to the exterior face I5 of the element I0, at the same time leaving suflicient thickness of the wood, as indicated at 33, to make a strong construction.

The powder, diagrammatically indicated at 34, is enclosed by the sifter 35 which has a ring 36 resting on the bottom of the shoulder 3l, said ring being enclosed by the turned-over periphery 31 of the sifter net 38.

The periphery of the ring 36 covered by the net 3'I preferably rests closely against the vertical wall of the step 3l.

The applicator 39, which may consist of a pile, felt or napped fabric and a closely woven nonporous fabric on its rear face, is provided with an embossed or enlarged periphery 4D, best shown in Fig. 1l, a tab member 4I (see Fig. 2) by which it may be removed and a clip member 42 opposing said tab member by which it may be held in position, said clip having a portion extending downwardly and rigidly connected to the portion of the recess 32, adjacent to the hinge structure A.

The mirror is received in a recess 44 and closely fits the side walls 45 thereof, the edges of the mirror preferably being beveled at 46 and the middle portion being flat as indicated at 4T. The periphery 48 of said flat portion 4'? preferably is positioned outside and of larger diameter than the embossed edge 40 of the applicator 39.

The latch construction B is formed by recessing the blocks I0 and II respectively, as indicated at 49 and 5D (Fig. 2). In the recess 50 is screwed the stud 5I, having a threaded shank 52 and an enlarged cylindrical body 53 and an enlarged head 54.

In the bottom of the recess 49 is positioned the bores 55 in which are placed the ends 56 of the U-shaped coil spring 5I, said ends preferably being glued in position.

In usage the compact may be readily opened from the position of Figs. l and 4 by turning the U-shaped spring 5l over the knob 5I and thus releasing the latch, as indicated in Fig. 3.

This will permit access to the mirror 41 and use of the applicator 39, the powder being readily sifted through the net or loose mesh fabric 38. The compact may be closed and locked in a reverse manner.

In assembly the two body portions ii] and II are shaped and then their interior faces are bored to form the recesses and the shoulders 33, 3|, 33 and 44.

Finally the outside of the compact is sanded, smoothed and shellaced. Before this is done the end pieces IS and I9 are preferably glued in position.

Then it is possible readily to insert one of the spring elements 23 in position. Following this the other spring element '23 is inserted and it is pressed into one of the recesses and then the other element I9 is swung into position between the elements Iii and when the spring reaches the opposite recess, it will snap open, thus forming the completed hinge construction.

The latch element 5i may be readily screwed into position, as shown in Fig. U-shaped element 5'? may be placed and held in position in the bores 55 after glue has been applied.

In the alternative constructions illustrated respectively by Figs. 5 and 6; Figs. 7 and 8; Figs. 9

and l0 and Fig. l2 correspondingly functioning parts as shown in Figs. i to 4 and l1 are indicated by the same numerals respectively primed, provided with a superior 2, provided with a superior 3, provided with a superior 4, and provided with a superior 5.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, the net 38 is held by the ring 35 against the corner 37 of the metal ring lil, which is of inverted L-shaped cross section. The sifter 35 may be permanently glued or otherwise attached in the corner 3i. The side flange 1I fits closely against the interior side wall 'I2 of the recess 33. The ring 10 may be of brass or silver and will give an attractive nish to the powder compartment of the case.

The construction of Figs. 7 and 8 is very similar to that of Figs. 5 and 6, except that the side ange H2 of the ring 'm2 has an upturned porti-on 132, which ts against the wall 'E22 of the recess 332 of the compact. The upper edge cf the fiange J3 is provided with an extension i4, the shape of which conforms to the shape of the compact element m2 as shown in Fig. 8 and covers the entire inside exposed face of the said compact.

It is apparent that the mirror may also have a corresponding flange with the result that when the compact, as illustrated partly in Fig. 8, is opened metal facing plates will be exposed giving the compact a more highly decorative appearance.

The construction as shown in Fig. 9 is very similar to that of Fig. 7, except that the flange 'i I3 is provided with an enlargement or groove 'I5 to receive the snap ring I6 which serves to hold the sifter 353 in position.

In Fig. il) the snap ring 'E64 holds the mirror 474 in position by cooperation with the ridge 'I54 in the side wall H4. It will be noted that the mirror in Fig. 10 is not bevelled at its edges, but

2, while the ,f

Will have a metal border '104 which will give it an enhanced apperance.

'I'he compact of Fig. 12 is substantially identical with that of Figs. 1 and 4 except that the side edges 8@ are of a synthetic resin, such as Catalin, or of a contrasting wood, and the edges 8| of the mirror carrying element H5 are cut off so as to iit inside of said side walls or elements 83. These elements 80 may be pasted, glued or riveted to the body portion H5 which carries the sifter and powder pui.

It is apparent that many other modiiications in the construction of the mirror compartment and the powder compartment might be made other than shown in Figs. 5 to 10 and that the edges 8i? of the compact may be trimmed in diferent manners than as illustrated in Fig. 12 so as to give contrasting colors or contrasting matef rials of construction.

It is generally desirable in connection with contrast to have metal ornaments or decorations on the exterior of the compact and either upon the mirror carrying element il or the powder box carrying element I or to have metallic edges or Catalin edgings as indicated in Fig. 13.

The compact may be of course oblong, oval or round instead of square, and either the spring hinge or catch may be omitted with the use of ordinary catch or hinge.

Many other changes could be effected in the particular features of the article disclosed, and in specific details thereof, without substantially departing from the invention intended to be deiined in the claims, the specic description herein merely serving to illustrate certain elements by which, in one embodiment, the spirit of the invention may be effectuated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a container having recessed container elements to be hinged together at one side and to be provided with a latch at the other side; the combination therewith of a latch consisting of a nob on one of the elements and a U-shaped coil spring on the other of said elements, the loop of said coil spring being designed to be pressed and engage said nob when the elements are latched together.

2. In a container having recessed container elements to be hinged together at one side and to be provided with a latch at the other side; the combination therewith of projecting portions at the hinged side of the elements, said projecting portions abutting each other, and said projecting portions being provided with recesses and a straight coil spring extending between said projecting portions with its ends xed in said recess to form a hinge.

3. In a container construction having a body member serving as a receiver and a cover member for said body member, hinge support elements at one side of said members extending outwardly from said members and having abutting faces transverse to the hinge axis, said abutting faces being provided with aligned recesses extending along the hinge axis, and a coil spring extending across said abutting faces with its ends in said recesses, said coil springs serving as the hinge between said cover member and said body member.

4. In a container construction having two members hingedly connected together at one side, a latch construction at the other side comprising a knob on one member and a. U-shaped coil spring on the other member to engage said knob, said knob and said U-shaped coil spring extending outwardly from the edges of said members.

EDWIN A. LEMIRE. ERNEST STEINER. 

